Corned Beef is on sale! Here’s what to do with it.

The best thing about St. Patrick’s Day is not the green beer, but the ridiculous loss-leader prices on corned beef. I like to stock up on a few points and flats for future experimentation. Here are a couple that have worked out particularly well.

Smoked Corned Beef (made with fancy eye of round for some reason)

Corned Beef Barbecue. Prepared using my standard brisket method with a brown sugar and black pepper rub (no need for salt obviously), 3 hours in the smoker followed by 3 hours tightly wrapped in foil in a 325 degree oven until falling apart. The result lacked a smoke ring but had real smoke flavor and made a great sandwich.

Corned Beef Bahn Mi

Corned Beef Bahn Mi. This was a mashup of some leftovers. My own sourdough baguette, some Do Chua Vietnamese pickled vegetables in the fridge, mayo, jalapeño and some dried-out basil pinch hitting for the Asian herbs. The result was excellent. Next time I’ll add some liverwurst as a stand-in for pate.

While on the subject of St. Patrick’s Day sales, don’t forget about the cabbage which is also on sale this week for half off its usual price or less. A head will keep a month in the refrigerator (though you’ll have to discard the outer layer) so buy a few heads and treat yourself to some of the many cole slaw recipes on Burnt My Fingers.